


You are my soldier, my brother, and my legacy

by writingtalking



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Siblings, child!Germany
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29201415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingtalking/pseuds/writingtalking
Summary: Prussia comforts a young Germany when he misses their sister and finds out his sadness doesn't originate from her absence alone.
Kudos: 6





	You are my soldier, my brother, and my legacy

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for an event on tumblr, where I very lamely used the prompt as the title. It takes place in 1863, a few weeks before the Second Schleswig War, the first of the three Unification Wars that led to the unification of the German Empire in 1871.   
> Their sister, Annika, is my OC for Berlin.

The floor clock was ticking its steady rhythm as Gilbert went over his paperwork in the calm of the evening. Candle light flickered over the neat paper of the letter he had received that day, signed and sealed by non other than dear Roderich. He hadn't expected him to agree so easily, but his sister had always had a talent for finding convincing words. Or maybe she'd just annoyed him enough, which was not that hard of a task when it came to the Austrian. He rolled his shoulders, tired from sitting in his chair for hours and the thought of what was to come the next weeks, the next months. Preparations for the war, training the soldiers, meetings with Roderich that would make him roll his eyes out of his skull. His life had never been particularity calm, but since his brother stepped into it, Annika and him were constantly trying to make Ludwig's better, _grander_. He was still so young, had barely grown since he was with them.

 _The wars will change that_. Annika had sounded so confident when she had said it. If everything worked out as they had discussed on that cloudy day, their new Minister President assuring them of the certain success of his plan between cups of hot tea, he too was inclined to believe it. He nearly messed up his signature when somebody knocked on the door, the noise an intruder in the comfortable silence.

“Yes?”

The opening door revealed the nanny taking care of his brother and he tensed. She didn't come to him often and the times she did, it was mostly because of unpleasant reasons.

“Good evening, Sir. I'm sorry to bother you, but I think Ludwig is not feeling well.”

Gilbert was out of his seat in an instant.

“What's wrong? Is he sick?”

The middle-aged woman shook her head. “I'm not sure, Sir. But he seemed a bit distant and calm today, calmer than usual. He claims he is fine, but I think something is troubling him. I put him to bed, but he appears to be too uneasy to sleep. Maybe you can...calm him down.”

She looked a bit unsure. It was usually Annika who calmed their brother down when it was needed, who took care of his emotional struggles. She usually wasn't fond of children, but he had been surprised to see how caring she was with him. Maybe it was because Ludwig was so well-mannered, a rather calm and good child. He was a stark contrast to his older siblings, both of them way too curious and stubborn when they had been his age.

“Thank you. You can go now, I will see to it.”, he dismissed her quietly and with a bow of her head and an equally quiet 'Good night, Sir', they went their different ways through the dark and empty halls.

Gilbert felt uneasy, a familiar anxiety rising at the thought of his brother being sick or hurt. He had nearly forgotten how it was to worry about a sibling so young - him and Annika had been of age for centuries. After a quick knock on the door he entered his brother's room, dimly lit by two candles on his bedside. He was sitting upright in his bed, a small body in a sea of pillows and blankets. Two books were laying on the sheets. Gilbert closed the door quietly and knelt down at the bedside, noticing the freshly brewed tea steaming a herbal scent in the air.

“What's wrong, soldier? Your nanny said you're not feeling well.”

Ludwig looked at him with shy blue eyes. His short fingers clenched the blanket. Gilbert frowned, the uncomfortable burning in his chest getting stronger. He could barely remember the time when he had been this young, but he did recall the days when Annika had been. Her hair had been even paler then than it was now, her face rounder and her eyes more cheerful. She had been delicate as well, as she still was, but she had hid a wild spirit behind that small body. Ludwig was so much tamer, much more gentle. Gilbert could tell he was uncomfortable and his brows furrowed further. He laid a hand on Ludwig's arm and squeezed it gently.

“You can tell me you know. I'd appreciate if you did.”

Did he sound too demanding? He spent most of his time talking to militaries and politicians, not children. Before he could append something more soothing, the boy spoke up.

“My...my stomach hurts. I'm not feeling so good.”

Gilbert had moved his hand to his brother's forehead without any thinking, noticing that he didn't feel feverish before he was even fully aware of his movement. He let his hand stay on his head, stroking his fine hair for a while.

“Well, you don't seem to have a fever, that's good. I will check up on you more thoroughly tomorrow, but for know you should just get a good night's sleep, hm?”

Ludwig nodded, but didn't look very hopeful. Then, as if he had changed his mind in a second , he whispered: “But I can't sleep.”

Gilbert sighed and eyed the books. One was a collection of the fairy tales Ludwig loved so much, the other one he couldn't quite make out. He reached over him and picked it up, sitting down on the bedside while he was at it.

“What is that?” He had asked the questions more to himself than his brother.

“Oh, it has many poems in it! Annika wanted me to learn a new one and I can already say half of it from memory!”

Gilbert flipped through the pages mindlessly. “Is that so?”, he mumbled, scanning the pieces that varied in length and themes.

Annika often asked Ludwig to prepare poems to recite. She had been rather strict about his education right from the start, trying to make him into a better person than both of them. It was kind of strange that she was the one to mother over him like that, with her dislike for children and her thin patience. He thought he had done a good enough job as an older brother for her, but did he slack now that another sibling was counting on him? Theoretically, he did not. The majority of his time was spent to prepare Ludwig's ascension to a powerful nation, his head filled with plans of wars that would help the unification and growth his body needed for that to happen. Although lately it had been mostly Annika who'd spent time with him, who read to him in the evening and went outside with him to explore the town and the forest.

“Do you want to hear it?”

Ludwig's voice was shy again, his eyes quickly falling to his lap after they had stared at his older brother while he was engaged in the book. He had moved closer to him to peer in it as well. Gilbert gave him a small smile, the anxiety dulling down to a weaker throb.

“Sure. Go ahead, soldier.”

Ludwig cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter.

“ _From the ice they are freed, the stream and brook, by the Spring’s enlivening, lovely look; the valley’s green with joys of hope; the Winter old and weak ascends back to the rugged mountain slope..._ “

Gilbert nearly groaned out loud. Dear god, his sister did _not_ ask their seven-year-old brother to recite Outside of the Gate with all its thirty eight verses of poetic glory. He should really take more time to watch over _both_ of them. Ludwig hadn't lied and made it about halfway through before he started to stutter. He cleared his throat again, the voice unusually high coming from a child. He looked at his older brother expectantly.

“Do you think Annika will be proud?” Gilbert gave him a grin and ruffled his hair.

“I'm sure. If you continue like this, you might become the next Goethe.”

Ludwig laughed a little and Gilbert's heart calmed down for a second. Then, a new thought crossed his mind. His grin died down.

“Do you miss her? Is that why you are not feeling well?”

Ludwig looked at him helplessly and subconsciously reached for one of the stuffed animals lying around him. He hugged the brown dog to his chest and stared downwards.

“I...I don't know. I know she comes back next week, but...” He didn't continue.

Gilbert's heart felt like it was being suffocated. “But what?”

Ludwig pressed the woolen fur to his face. Gilbert sighed and ran a hand through his thin hair. He was so bad at these kinds of talks, especially when it was with a child.

“I'm sorry.”

Ludwig's voice was just a whisper now, his bright blue eyes filling with tears. Gilbert's heart nearly stopped.

“What? What's wrong?”

The ache in his chest was nearly painful. “What are you sorry for?”

His brother sniffled a little and turned his head away.

“I don't want you to think I'm weak. It's...it's not honourable.”

Gilbert was speechless for a moment. It was not often that he felt so helpless, so terribly miserable. He reached a hand out to Ludwig and placed it on his little shoulder as gently as he could.

“Why would I think that? It is not ignoble to miss someone important to you.”

Ludwig sniffled again, his eyes hesitantly peering up at him. “Do you miss her too?”

Gilbert nearly laughed. It was probably not the best idea to tell him no, he did not miss her when she was only gone for two feeble weeks and that their bond as grown-ups couldn't be compared to the one between a child and his caretaker. So, he gave a small nod.

“Of course I miss her too. She's my younger sister after all. It's the duty of the oldest to look after his little siblings.”

Cornflower eyes looked at him. “Am I important to you too?”

His heart clenched painfully.

“What?”

His voice was barely a whisper. Then, without much thinking, his arms had closed around Ludwig's small form.

“Ludwig. You're my only brother. You're my legacy. I love you as much as I love your sister.”

The boy trembled slightly in his embrace and he ran his hand over his back in an attempt to soothe him.

“Why would you think otherwise?”

Ludwig was crying now, but he still seemed notably collected for his age.

“Y-you didn't spend much time with me lately and your always so busy with work. You used to read fairy tales to me, but now only Annika does.”

He hiccuped. Gilbert clenched his eyes shut, trying to think of the right words to say now. Maybe it was also to stop tears from coming.

“Listen, Ludwig. My only wish right now is for you to become stronger and grow up to a respectable, good man. The reason why I couldn't spend much time with you lately is because I had to plan and prepare certain procedures that will make this wish come true. Still...”, he loosened the hug to look his brother in his innocent eyes.

His tears had stopped coming, but they had left wet trails on his rosy skin.

“I'm sorry that I made you think you don't matter to me anymore. Because that is far from the truth. You mean everything to me, just as you do to your sister.”

Ludwig blinked at him for a few agonizing seconds and then, thankfully, closed the space again and hugged his older brother tightly.

“Really?”, his voice came muffled from his chest.

Gilbert laughed and ruffled the younger one's hair again. “Lying is not virtuous, soldier. Everything I said is absolutely true.”

Ludwig laughed, but some sniffles still made their way into the joyful sound. Gilbert decided that is was time for his brother to finally go to sleep. Tomorrow he'd have calmed down, hopefully. He pressed a short kiss to the top of his head and left their embrace gently.

“You should go to sleep. Otherwise you can't concentrate on learning the poem tomorrow. Do you think it will work now?”

Ludwig nodded, a little smile on his face.

“We can go on a walk with Loki and stop by at the bakery that makes the doughnuts you like so much.”

Ludwig's eyes lit up at the mention of the dachshund and he nodded excitedly. His sadness seemed to be gone, at least for now. The pressure in Gilbert's chest finally subsided. An untypically sincere smile formed on his lips.

“Alright. Sleep well, soldier.” “You too, Gilbert.”

His answer was quiet and still a bit shy, but it managed to widen the smile nevertheless. Gilbert doused the candles and night took over the room, bringing comfort with its stillness and darkness, comfort that both of them had been needing that day.

**Author's Note:**

>  _The new Minister President_ : Otto von Bismarck, appointed to the position in 1862
> 
>  _Outside of the Gate_ : a very popular German Easter poem that is part of Goethe’s Faust, Part One 
> 
> _Doughnuts_ : I just want to clarify that I mean the jelly-filled Berlin doughnuts and not the American style ones with the hole
> 
>  _Loki_ : it’s my headcanon that Prussia has a dachshund. its name is Loki because they are said to be mischievous and playful.


End file.
